Destination: Fruitfulness

A Path in the Woods

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In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength...

-Isaiah 30:15

Today is the last day of June. Half the year has gone by. Tomorrow begins the second half of this year.

At about the start of this decade, a group of us from our church began working with Family Foundations International. Through this ministry I received healing for my emotional wounds which I wasn't even aware of. God helped me understand the importance of knowing my true identity and destiny. This has given me a different worldview, and helped change the way I look at life, my family members, my relationships. It has helped me change the way I speak, the words I use, even the kind of thoughts - the self talk and the attitudes - I entertain in my mind.


These past ten years or so, God has been doing a lot of reconstructing inside of me... a kind of sifting and purifying process.

And as is true of all who desire to draw closer to Him, we are all diamonds in the rough, people in process and under construction. God is not finished with us yet.

These past days I have been thinking about the word destiny.

Since I am now officially the head of our family, an important position I hold is being the watchman and the priest of our home. For this I am in constant need of God's guidance and direction as I watch over each son, daughter and grandson... praying and interceding, lifting them all before God, needing divine help as I lead our whole family to our individual and corporate destinies.

Being the spiritual leader of our family means taking my spiritual growth seriously...constantly reminding myself that "I mean business with God."

It also means understanding and knowing what my own destiny really is.


At first, I thought that this was going to be such a difficult quest, for if I missed the road to it... then what?


But one day it just dawned on me: my destiny was to simply arrive at the destination that God has intended for me. The connection caught my eye: my destiny is my destination...

My destiny is the ultimate goal that the Father has planned.

And the ultimate aim of my Father is nothing less than to shape and mold me to have a heart like His own son, Jesus Christ.

In short, my destiny is to become like Jesus, to be Christlike, in all I think, say and do. My actions... choices... decisions... all are to be aligned to the purposes of God for me.

And His purpose for me is this: to give Him honor and glory in my life.

To build His kingdom, not mine...

To speak His words...

To have the mind of Christ as the sole basis for my decisions.

It means that among the many roads open before me, there is only one path that leads to that destination, the path called Obedience.

In my younger years as a Christian, I looked at "obedience" as following a set of rules, the do's and don'ts . Only if I adhered to them would I benefit; otherwise I would surely miss out on God's perfect plan for my life.

I found myself questioning God, asking Him why my relationship to Him seemed to be governed by a set of rules. It seemed very much like following Him, and the requirement to receiving His blessing, were based on keeping the law, thus bringing me back to a religion of works all over again.

Gradually as I matured in my faith I came to see that being obedient was an important and vital part of the relationship.

The heavenly Father loves to bless, He is a munificent God. More than just being generous, He loves to lavish us with His goodness, BUT most of this blessing is found on the pathway of obedience.

Yes, there are unconditional blessings from God's heart freely given to everyone, like He causes it to rain both on the just and the unjust; but there is a category of conditional and special blessings reserved only for His obedient children.

One morning, God surprised me by answering my question in a graphic way. In my mind I saw two pathways - one was somewhat narrow, but there was a bright light at the end of it. The road was named Obedience.

The other road was wide; of the two roads, this was obviously the oft-traveled one. "A beaten path" would be a poetic way to describe it, as the middle portion hardly had any grass on it. However, I could not see far enough to know what was at the end of it.

This road had several words written on it, the first one being Disobedience, and underneath was another word, self-fulfillment, and other similar words.

Nothing more needed to be explained to me. It was then that I understood quite clearly.

Obedience is a position. A pathway. I position myself on that road to reach God's intended goal, and to receive the blessings of guidance and direction that I need. As long as I am on this path, this narrow path, I am on the right road.

The easier path to take is the other road, the road to self-fulfillment, where I pursue my own dreams, live for my own personal agenda, do my own programs, even the church- and ministry-related ones but which are not really part of God's plan for me.


Contrary to what many think, "destiny" is not the same as "fate" over which we have no control.

This is my stand: I don't believe in fate, I believe in destiny.

Fate is a lie of the enemy. Fate stifles, and imprisons, but destiny sets you free to be who God created you to be.

I have realized that while God holds my destiny in His hands, I can actually take an active part in its fulfillment. He has given me the freedom to make choices.

The ultimate destination that God wants for everyone is heaven, but still each one of us is free to make the choice to go there. It is not rammed down our throats. But God does know who are His, they are the tender-hearted, obedient ones who delight to do His bidding.


While heaven is the end goal for those who have chosen that as their eternal destination, in this life, I can already begin to activate my destiny and live it out. It is very much like coming into my inheritance and being able to enjoy a portion of it right where I am.

I just need to do my part.

In order to obtain their inheritance, the nation of Israel, led by Joshua, had to do their part.

God told Joshua,

Every place that the sole of your foot
will tread upon,
I have given to you, as I said to Moses.

- Joshua 1:2-3

In the same way, to walk in the pathway of my destiny means that I step out in faith, fight my battles the right way, use my God given gifts and opportunities to do only what God has assigned for me to do.

It does sound very simple, but I know only too well that to obey is not the natural inclination of the human heart. It is easier said than done.

The training in obedience and in righteous living, fixing my eyes toward the goal, all these are constantly required of me.

And when I think that upon my shoulders lies the heavy responsibility to lead my family along the right path, I constantly find myself asking God to help me, to lead me, that I may be a worthy guidepost, a true model, and Godly example for them to follow.

May I be a faithful watchman and a priest over them, providing spiritual covering for them, daily interceding for them, and lifting up each family member before God's throne.


It has been nearly three months that I have been here in Manila. Not my original plan at all, but as I have said before, God had a different timetable for me to follow.

I realize now that in wisdom God has given me this extended time of transition away from my home in Bacolod City to rediscover myself and my sense of destiny, to regain my bearings after my husband passed away seven months ago, to hear clearly from Him, to receive the clear assurance that His compassion is on me, and that His provision is always more, never less, than my present and future needs.

In another post I will probably be sharing more of what God has been speaking to me these past weeks.

Today, I am so grateful for the light at the end of the tunnel. God is simply asking this of me: walk down the road less traveled... bear fruits that are worthy of repentance... cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in your life, a sure sign that you are becoming more and more like Jesus.

Father, I long to be known as a woman of obedience. I am grateful for Your light that is enough for my every step. You have promised that You will not leave me or forsake me. You are a Faithful Father, the Munificent One who loves to lavish Your goodness upon Your children. I hold on to You for strength and guidance. You alone are my Hope. May my joy in having You as my God and King never diminish, but only grow with every passing day.